How to know which percussion sound would likely go well with a particular song?

wakix19

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Just wondering whether a general guideline about this issue exists. I've been relying on youtube and other online resources to teach myself to play the uke, and I'm used to not adhere to formal instructions too closely. But I've been finding it hard to choose the right percussion sound, and even after some experimentation it still doesn't sound right sometimes.
 
Are you talking drums or actual percussion sounds like the chunk on the uke?
 
Are you talking drums or actual percussion sounds like the chunk on the uke?

I'm exploring both options. If the uke techniques produce nice percussion sounds and are not too hard to do while strumming then I'd prefer that option. But I'm also looking at stompboxes.
 
It ultimately depends on what you are trying to accomplish.

Are you trying to gain further mastery of the ukulele in general? The ukulele is fantastically punchy sounding and lends itself to many types of rhythmic techniques. YouTube is a fine source for this knowledge.

Are you looking for something to play along to? There are free browser based drum machines that are easy and work well. A metronome is also great to develop your sense of timing.

For playing percussion with your feet there are many options. Personally, I have a mini tambourine that I can strap on my shoe and I also have a shaker that uses a shoe-horn construction that fits into the heel of my shoe.

Be creative and have fun!
 
For percussion I use the ukulele itself. For convenience's sake I limit myself to two sounds although there are many others. I use these two sounds because I don't have to move my picking hand to make them.

1. Using one, two, or three fingers I drop them to the right of the soundhole near the waist of the body. That makes a deeper thuddier sound. I think of it as a snare
2. Using the side of my thumb on the left upper bout. It is a slighter sound that I think of as a high hat.
 
You're going to have try a bunch of different sounds to find the one that sounds good to you. Using YouTube is a good starting point to learn about different sounds. When I play bass uke with my group, I spend a few hours with a new song trying different sounds and sooner than later I find what I like.


This is Michael Kohan in Los Angeles, Beverly Grove near the Beverly Center
9 tenor cutaway ukes, 4 acoustic bass ukes, 12 solid body bass ukes, 14 mini electric bass guitars (Total: 39)

• Donate to The Ukulele Kids Club, they provide ukuleles to children in hospital music therapy programs. www.theukc.org
• Member The CC Strummers: YouTube: www.youtube.com/user/CCStrummers/video, Facebook: www.facebook.com/TheCCStrummers
 
It ultimately depends on what you are trying to accomplish.

Are you trying to gain further mastery of the ukulele in general? The ukulele is fantastically punchy sounding and lends itself to many types of rhythmic techniques. YouTube is a fine source for this knowledge.

Are you looking for something to play along to? There are free browser based drum machines that are easy and work well. A metronome is also great to develop your sense of timing.

For playing percussion with your feet there are many options. Personally, I have a mini tambourine that I can strap on my shoe and I also have a shaker that uses a shoe-horn construction that fits into the heel of my shoe.

Be creative and have fun!

Thanks for the reply. The browser based drum machines thingy sounds pretty interesting. I will give it a try.
 
I can't seem to add my question to this youtube video, so I'd like to post it here.

At the 6:57 mark, for the beat sound alone, is it: kick - hihat (up) - snare - hihat (down)? Also is there a way to make my kick sound deeper and have a bit of a "static" sound effect? I feel like it's lacking some of that "static", but I don't know if that's because of my playing, or because of my equipment.
 
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For percussion I use the ukulele itself. For convenience's sake I limit myself to two sounds although there are many others. I use these two sounds because I don't have to move my picking hand to make them.

1. Using one, two, or three fingers I drop them to the right of the soundhole near the waist of the body. That makes a deeper thuddier sound. I think of it as a snare
2. Using the side of my thumb on the left upper bout. It is a slighter sound that I think of as a high hat.

This is a nice effect. Ohta San uses the uke to create percussive effects. If you want to use a percussion instrument a cabasa is nice, not too loud. I play and perform on djembe quite a bit pre covid. Large djembes can be loud but the smaller ones are better suited for playing with ukulele. small egg shaped shakers are also nice.
 
As much as it sounds like a "non answer," I would suggest that you experiment with a few sounds and see what you like. There are no right answers. It is what fits your taste and the musical situation. I can tell you what I like, but make it your own and put your own stamp on it.

There are countless stories of artists who tried a tune with many different guitar players, drummers, bass players and after much experimentation came up with the mix they liked. Steely Dan was notorious for this, often mixing pieces of various takes. Quincy Jones did the same with all the Michael Jackson stuff, including on tracks like Billy Jean.

Have fun with it. The hard part is that in 6 months you may have a completely different opinion, which is ok. A recording is a snapshot in time.
 
Mike is onto something. Playing together with a bassist is a great help. But not a lousy bassist, I tried that and it messed me all up.
 
I forgot the obvious answer. Your metronome. Every musician should have one. Since it is already there, use it. My metronome has two sounds a bell and a beat. I like the cadence of "bong, bong, bong, ring."
 
Getting to know this takes a long time. If you don't take a lot of time to learn these things you will have many problems. I didn't have a traditional music education, but I learned a lot of stuff online. I have a natural talent for music, and this stuff is easy to understand for me.
To be honest, I used YouTube tutorials to get some of these things. It's an excellent way to learn if you find a suitable tutorial. Now I use free sound effects royalty free from the Depositphotos website. It's a much easier way to do this. You don't have to do every sound effect from scratch. It's ok to use already existing ones from time to time.
 
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